


We were eight at the time

by Hino_Hatari



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Foster Care, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 01:56:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20201845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hino_Hatari/pseuds/Hino_Hatari
Summary: He was like, “Blargh, it’s me!” And he stabbed me. We were eight at the time.And that is how Loki found himself back into the foster system.





	We were eight at the time

“Loki? Where are you? It’s not fun anymore now!” A worried little boy shouted in the endless halls of the manor, but no one answered. Thor huffed and puffed his cheeks, but undeterred by the lack of answer, he kept wandering around the house, looking into nooks, behind the curtains, under the furniture.

He knew Loki was very good at hiding, when he wanted to. Their games of hide and seek could last all day, until Thor got tired of looking and just surrendered to his brother. That, and the manor was really big for an eight year old.

“Loki?” He called again after he rounded yet another corner, but yet again, he heard nothing in answer. At this time of the day, the maids were usually busy in the kitchen, as his parents would be home soon enough. It was summer break and both Odin and Frigga made a point of coming home early to spend time with the boys. Thor loved summer the most. He loved spending time under the sun, running in their large garden, pretending he was one of those Amazons he had read about in his favourite bedtime book, slaying imaginary enemies.

Loki often said that his books were stupid. Loki, who was also eight, liked reading books on astro – on the stars, and on all sorts of science things that Thor thought was boring.

He knelt on the carpeted floor to look under yet another bed in yet another guest room, but there was nothing there. Loki was smaller and more slender than he was even if they were the same age. His Mommy had said it was because Loki had been in the foster system before he became Thor’s brother, a couple of years ago. Regardless, it made Loki very good at fitting in places Thor couldn’t fit anymore.

The little boy frowned and tried to rethink all the places Loki could be. It felt to him that he had covered all the rooms in the manor already, all of Loki’s favourite hiding places.

_The garden!_ Thor thought. _Loki likes cheating. He must be in the garden._

That thought filled Thor with annoyance and a little bit of anger. They had agreed that the garden was off limit, because the manor was already far too big. But Loki cheated often, and even though it never made Thor really mad at him, it still was annoying.

The boy made his way downstairs.

“Where are you going, Thor? Dinner is almost ready,” Sif stepped before him as he was crossing the entrance hall to the door. Thor looked up at the tall woman. She was very young, but was his parents’ favourite au pair.

“I can’t find Loki, so I’m going to look for him in the garden,” he said simply and shrugged. Sif was, so far, the strictest au pair they had had. Thor didn’t remember much the others before her. She had arrived here a few months after his parents took Loki in for fostering. Thor liked her a lot though, but he knew Loki didn’t. She always knew how to put a stop to Loki’s mischief, no matter how well Loki planned for them.

“It’s almost dinner time, so we’ll look for him together, all right?” She smiled kindly to him and reached out a hand for him to take. Thor liked to think he was a big boy now, and really didn’t need an adult to take his hand within the estate. It wasn’t as if he could get hit by a car or something in here.

“All right. You try the driveway and I’ll try the pond,” he said, without taking her hand. The pond was in the backyard of the house, in the middle of a large flowery garden that he knew his Mommy was very proud of. She spent a lot of time taking care of the flowers, and making sure that her plants were ready for the flower festival that took place once a year in their town.

Sif nodded and they walked out together, under the light of a setting sun.

Thor rounded the house quickly. There were so much foliage and plants in the garden that he knew finding Loki here would be almost as hard as finding him in the manor. Loki had put on a green tee shirt today that would blend well here. He was cunning like that.

“Loki?” Thor called loudly. Still no answer. Thor walked into what would easily pass as a botanical garden, had it been open to the public. He loved it here, truly, and they always had fun. “I know you’re here, Loki. Show yourself. I’m bored and Sif said it’s dinner time. Mummy and Daddy will be here soon.”

And frankly, Thor was hungry too. It was getting darker by the minute and it always took the house staff a little while before they would switch on the outdoor lights. As much as Thor loved it here during the day, he didn’t want to be here in the dark. He was a very brave boy, _he was_, but there was this horror film the other day (and honestly, it just showed how brave he was because he watched an entire horror movie) …

“Blargh, it’s me!” A voice came from behind him, and Thor jumped out of fright. But before he could recover, pain, burning hot, stabbed his rib, and Thor screamed from the sheer agony of it as he fell onto his knees.

“Thor!” Two voices came at the same time, but Thor couldn’t even tell who it was. He was crying and crying and crying, and his side hurt so much.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose. I just wanted to scare him a bit!”

“Thor, it’s all right. Breathe. I’m calling 911, it’ll be all right,” a female voice said, but he could barely breathe, and he could feel darkness, such dreaded, scary darkness, all around him. And before he knew it, all was dark and quiet.


End file.
